Hans Sy to bow out of SM Prime

SM Prime Holdings president Hans Sy (left). ELOISA LOPEZ/FILE PHOTO

A CHANGING of the guard looms at Southeast Asian property giant SM Prime Holdings Inc. (SMPH) with long-time president Hans Sy bowing out and passing the torch to the current executive vice president Jeffrey Lim.

Sy, who will turn 61 in September, made the surprise announcement last Saturday night during a cocktail hosted for the group’s executive officers at the family’s new hotel property Conrad Manila, industry sources said. The retirement is still subject to board approval.

Handpicked as Sy’s successor was Lim, 55, SMPH chief finance officer who has been with the group for over two decades.

In a text message, Lim said his appointment as the new president of SMPH was expected to take effect on Oct. 1.

Asked about the rationale for this management turnover, SM Investments Corp. (SMIC) head of investor relations Cora Guidote said Sy’s “semi-retirement” was part of “succession planning” in the Sy family.

Guidote said Hans Sy had indicated plans to reduce day-to-day responsibilities to spend more time with his family.

Lim is widely seen as a suitable successor as the Sy family moves to professionalize management across different units while grooming the next generation Sy family members—all of whom are still young—for greater leadership roles.

To date, Lim is also a member of SMPH’s executive committee, and has been president of residential development arm SM Development Corp. since this was merged into SM Prime to create the largest property firm in the country and one of the largest in the region.

Lim is also a director of Pico de Loro Beach and Country Club Inc. and holds various board and executive positions in other SMPH’s subsidiaries. He is a member of the management board of the Asia Pacific Real Estate Association. He is a Certified Public Accountant and holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from the University of the East. Prior to joining SMPH in 1994, he had worked for SGV & Co.

Hans Sy, on the other hand, served as president of SMPH since 2004.  He is expected to remain a director at SMPH after his “semi-retirement” and still provide counsel to the management. Older brother Henry Sy Jr. is expected to remain as SMPH chair.

Within the SM group, Hans Sy’s other current positions include adviser to the board of SMIC, chair of China Banking Corp. and chair of National University.

Under the leadership of Sy, a B.S. Mechanical Engineering graduate of De La Salle University, SMPH became the largest shopping developer in the country, started an expansion program in China and consolidated with SMDC to create one of the region’s largest property firms in terms of market capitalization.  It has also become the most valuable company in the local stock exchange, now worth P798.5 billion, even exceeding parent SMIC’s market capitalization of P795 billion.